The arrival of Kyle
by SwedishJass
Summary: Kyle is in Salem on a mission, to take what is rightfully hers. She does not care who she steps on to get what she wants.
1. Chapter 1

**In Sweden, where I watch Days Of Our Lives, we are only in the season of 2009. My story is therefore based on that.**

**Kyle is a fictional character based on my own imagination, the rest of the characters are based on Days Of Our Lives.**

**Please comment.**

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1.

She walked into the _Titan_ building with a lot of confidence. There was no time to be nervous. She had waited for this moment for many years, prepared herself by studying business in London. Her eyes were set on the price, and the price was something immaculate and prestige.

Kyle had come to Salem the day before from Manhattan in New York, where she had stayed for a few days. Although her mother had told her about Salem she never pictured it to be this small. Well, everything was small if you compared it to London or New York. She was, and always had been, a big city girl. But now she was in Salem because of her mother's past and her own future.

When she stepped into the elevator she saw a glimpse of herself in the mirrors. She was dressed for business. A white shirt tucked into her high waist pencil skirt. She had a big necklace with green emeralds, which complemented her emerald green eyes very well. Her outfit might have screamed power but her aura was always the factor which revealed the power she possessed. Other girls, and some guys, had always been intimidated by her, especially her former classmates.

The elevator opened before her when she was at the right level. She stepped out and looked around. The floor was carpeted, so her high stilettos did not make any sound. She walked passed a couple of doors and an unmanned reception desk and thought it was perfect. No one saw her. Next to the reception desk was a door with a sign with the name _CEO Philip Kiriakis_. She knew she was at the right place. She opened the door, which was unlocked, and walked into the stylish office. With a light smile she walked towards the desk and sat down in the leather desk chair.

She looked at the pictures on the desk and saw one and the same man with a woman and a man, probably his parents, and another picture with him and a bunch of other people, probably friends or family. Kyle already knew that Philip had a somewhat of an extensive family.

She did not have time to do much more before the door opened again. A man, the man in the pictures, hesitated in the doorway.

"Who are you?" Philip said with one eyebrow raised.

She thought that he was cuter than she had imagined when her mother had told her stories about him.

"Kyle", she said in her British accent.

"And what the hell do you think you're doing?" he said and took a step into his office without closing the door behind him.

"Oh, ruthless are you?" she said smiling that sarcastic smile she had worked on for years.

"I am when someone is sitting at my desk as if they owned the building."

"Well, you'll better check again because I'm here to stay."

"Excuse me?"

"My father owns this building."

"No, my father does", he said with a voice which he probably tried to intimidate her with. But she was not easily intimidated.

"No, I'm going to correct you there. It's _our_ father."

"I'll ask you again", he said walking towards her with a dark look in his eyes, "who the hell are you?"

She stood up, walked in front of the desk and stood face to face with him. His grey-green eyes examined her face.

"Kyle", she said and held out her hand, "Kyle Alamain."

"Alamain?" he said and froze. "As in Vivian Alamain?"

"Yes", she said with a sly smile, "Vivian is my mother."

"How is that even possible?" he said ignoring to shake her hand and walked past her to sit in his leather desk chair.

"After she gave birth to you and before she left Salem with Ivan, she and our father conceived me."

"I don't believe you."

"Well, it's true."

"What are you doing here?" he said.

"I'm here to claim what is rightfully mine."

"And what do you think that is?"

"A place as shared CEO here at _Titan_."

"What reality do you live in?" he said sarcastic. "That will never happen."

"Do I really need to call my father for this?"

"Get out of my office", he said harshly. "No wait, get out of my building."

"Our father's building."

"Do I need to call security?"

"Philip, what is going on?" said a young woman who had just walked into his office. Her brown hair, big brown eyes and cute face reminded Kyle of herself when she was young.

"We have an intruder", he said.

"Intruder?" Kyle said and faked a hurt tone of voice. "Is that how you Americans greet your family?"

"Family?" said the girl.

"Yes, I'm his sister", she said and turned to the girl who, by the look of her face, was very much surprised.

"You are not my sister."

"Well, half-sister then", she said and rolled her eyes. "Who cares about menial terms?"

"I do not care who you are", he said harshly. "You can't just barge in here and demand a part in my business."

"I'm not demanding anything less than what's rightfully mine."

"Get out."

"Now, now, brother", she said and felt she had to get serious. "If you do not give me what is rightfully mine I will have to take it from you. It's your choice. I do not have time for silly games."

"The only one playing games is you."

She sighed and rolled her eyes once again. If she were to get what she wanted, and what she came for, she had to come up with a better plan. Right now her half-brother prevented her from getting what she wanted.

"Call our father", she said.

"Why?"

"Ask him what he thinks, and do what he says."

"I decide what's going to happen to _Titan_."

"Then tell our father that."

A moment of silence and challenging gazes fell over the office. She was not going to back down. Not now when she had come so far, both literally and figuratively.

"If you really know him so well, why don't you call him?" he said and picked up the phone and offered it to her.

"Dial the number", she said taking the phone in her hand.

The brown-eyed girl walked up to Philip and stood beside him while the signals rang in the phone. The girl looked at her with a confused look.

"Oh, I'm sorry", Kyle said, "I never introduced myself. I'm Kyle Alamain. And you are?"

"Stephanie Johnson."

The girl was very much a pretty one. She probably had a relationship with Philip. Kyle could see them fit very well together. Maybe they were a little bit too gorgeous as a couple, too perfect. However, she looked fitting by his side.

"Victor Kiriakis", said a grumpy voice on the other side of the phone.

"Hello, father", she said in a feather light tone of voice.

"Kyle?"

"Yes, it's me."

"What do you want?" he said and sounded suspicious, as always.

"I'm standing in front of my half-brother, asking him nicely to include me into your business."

"You told me you were staying in London for another few years."

"I wanted to surprise you."

"Have you forgotten that I knew your mother?" he said fiercely. "You have a hidden agenda. Now speak frankly, what do you want?"

"I want a place as a shared CEO of _Titan_."

"Ha, how did my dear son react on your demands?"

"He told me that it would never happen."

"There you have your answer."

Her plans were not going well. If she were to get what she wanted she needed to step it up a notch and do what she did best, negotiating.

"You have seen my grades from college, right father?"

"Yes."

"Then you know what I'm good at, which was everything at college."

"Being a top student does not make you suite _Titan_."

"No, but do I need to remind you how ruthless I am when it comes to business? Do I even need to remind you that I'm _your_ daughter and therefore have business in my blood?"

"I will not offer you a place as CEO", he said harshly.

"Then give me a good starting point."

"As an intern?"

"You are joking, right?" she said wrinkling her forehead.

She heard him sigh at the other end of the phone line. She knew that meant that she was getting under his skin and that she was on the right path to get what she wanted.

"Put Philip on the phone", he said.

"He wants to talk to you", she said giving him the phone.

"Yes, father", Philip said.

Kyle would never have admitted it, but she was nervous. More nervous than she thought she would be. Her entire future was in her father's hands.

Ever since Victor had found out that he had a daughter, and that Vivian was her mother, he wanted to keep it a secret. At least until she had graduated from college with a degree in business. However, when she was finished, two years ago, he told her he was not ready to tell anyone yet. She had waited for two years in the dark until one day she just decided that she did not care what he thought. She knew he was pissed at her, but she did not care. She had waited long enough.

"Are you sure?" Philip said to their father while examining Kyle's face once again. "Do I need to tell you that I don't like this?"

His words verified what she hoped for. She had gotten herself a place at _Titan_.

"Okay father, talk to you soon", Philip said before he hung up.

"When do I start?" she said smiling victorious.

"As soon as you can find yourself a project that you can bring to _Titan_."

"Great."

"You will be evaluated based on how you handle your project", he said with a serious face, "and if you really want to get as high as shared CEO you will have to work for it."

"I will do my best."

"Your best might not be good enough."

"You underestimate me already", she said smiling that sarcastic smile, "that will be your biggest mistake."

"Is that a threat?" he said mimicking her sarcastic smile.

"No, big brother, that is a promise", she said and turned to walk away.

She had done it, and she was immensely proud of herself. Now she just needed to find a project she could work on, and make a huge profit on.


	2. Chapter 2

2.

Kyle was staying at a hotel until she could find a permanent place in Salem. She did not want to impose on her father, even though she knew he had more than enough space in his big mansion. She had lived on her own almost all her life, Salem was no different. She could take care of herself there as well.

She was sitting in a dark sofa in her hotel room, browsing through the contact list in her phone, trying to come up with a project to bring to _Titan_. During her time in college she had met a lot of people who were in different types of businesses. There she had built herself a web of contacts. Hopefully one or another of these contacts would be willing to help her with a project.

She remembered an assignment she had, during one of her semesters in college, where she had met a woman, called Martha Goodwin, who made organic and environmentally friendly beauty products. Martha had a huge range of customers in Europe. Maybe Kyle was supposed to bring her products to America and make some money for both of them.

She searched the Martha's contact information in her phone and found an email. She sent an email of her proposal; that Martha should start to sell her products to America on her web shop, that Kyle would fix the shipping to USA, market them in America and eventually sell them like butter on a sunny day. That could not be so hard. As soon as she got clearance from Martha, which happen about an hour after Kyle sent her proposal, she only had one thing to do – go to _Titan_ and tell Philip about her project.

Once again she walked into the _Titan_ building with confidence. The reception desk outside of Philips office was empty. As Kyle walked by she wondered if there ever was any receptionist who ever worked at _Titan_. This time she knocked on the door to Philips office and did not just barge in.

"Come in", he said.

Philip was not alone. Another man, tall and handsome, watched her as she closed the door.

"What do you want?" Philip said almost resentful.

"I have a project", she said with a smile.

"You move fast."

"Well, I do have a lot of contacts from my time in college that can benefit _Titan_."

"I'm sorry", said the other man, "but who are you?"

"Kyle Alamain", she said and held out her hand.

"Alamain?" he said grabbing her hand. "As in Vivian Alamain?"

"That's my mother", she said and dammed Vivian in silence for having to have been a bitch of all things. "And you are?"

"Brady Black."

"As in my father's grandson?" she said while letting his hand go.

"What?" he said with a confused look on his face.

"Kyle is the product of Vivian's manipulative power over my father", Philip said with a tired voice. He was clearly not in the mood to either talk about Kyle or to her.

"How is that possible?" said Brady.

"When two people like each other they might do something called sex", she said and talked to him as if he were a child. "What happens during sex is that ..."

"Can we talk of something else right now?" Philip said to interrupt her.

She looked at Philip and smiled. At least she thought her conversation was funny. The boys did not, by the look of their faces.

"Should we talk about my project instead?" she said after a short silence.

"Do you work for _Titan_?" Brady said while wrinkling his forehead.

"I do as soon as I get this project on the run."

"What kind of project is it?" Philip said without any interest in what she was saying.

"When I was in college I met a woman who produced organic and environmentally friendly beauty products. We can ship her products here and market them."

"How are we making money on this?" Brady said.

"Do you work here as well?" she asked before she said anything else. She did not want to blab all her ides to someone who had nothing to do with it.

"I'm CEO", he said. "Well, shared CEO with Philip."

"Really?" she said smiling to camouflage her disappointment. She was supposed to be CEO, or shared CEO with Philip, not fight over the spots with yet another one.

"We make money by shipping her products here", Philip said looking at Kyle for the first time with some form of interest. He probably saw dollar signs.

"Yes. All I have to do is convince retails here in America to purchase her products, market them and make big bucks by just shipping."

"Do you think it is that easy?" Brady said with doubt in his tone of voice.

"I didn't say it's easy, but this deal kind of sells itself."

"'Kind of'?" Philip said.

She took out a folder from her bag and handed it to him. In the folder there were papers of the products sales figures in Europe. He, and Brady, looked at the figures in silence. She was so familiar with how businesses worked that she was neither intimidated nor nervous over their stale poker faces.

"Is this woman in on a deal?" Philip said after a while.

"Yes, we just need to draw up a good contract for her."

"Impressive", he said examining her face. "I just hope that you can handle this."

"You've not seen anything yet", she said smiling a proudly.

Philips phone rang.

"I'll have our lawyers draw up a contract for her", he said before answering his phone. He did not look or sound very pleased with what whoever was calling told him. When he hung up he said: "I have bigger things to worry about right now though."

"Like what?" she said interested in whatever he worked on.

"Someone has just taken their patent and the deal with _Titan_ and ran to our competition, just to screw with me", he said with an angry voice.

"What are you going to do about him?"

"Her."

"It's a woman?" she said and raised her eyebrows. "Are you letting a girl screw with you?"

"You're not helping", he said and looked at her with a dark look in his eyes.

She sighed. It might be better if she actually helped her brother and showed him that she was good and deserved a place at _Titan_.

"Sue her", she said and shrugged her shoulders. "If you really had a deal, then sue her. _Titan_ must have like a million lawyers, right?"

"What good will that do?" Brady said.

"She might be smart enough to re-evaluate her decision?" she said. "It might even give you time to persuade her to re-evaluate her decision. If you had a contract then she is bound to it."

"You do not know her", Philip said harshly. "You do not know what she is capable of and how manipulative and thick-skinned she is."

"Come on", Kyle said rolling her eyes, "it's just business. Play fire with fire. No wait, better yet, play a nuclear bomb with her fire and you will be guaranteed to win."

"'It's just business'?" Brady said echoing her words and wrinkling his forehead.

"How can you two be shared CEO of _Titan_?" she said and pressed her fingers against her temples. "Show her that you mean business for God's sake."

"You are right", Philip said unwillingly. "I have to do something about her."

"Well, no matter what you decide to do, I have other things to do than stand here and babble", she said clapping her hands together. "I guess the lawyers will take a day or two to draw a contract, so I think it's time for me to explore Salem."

She turned around and walked out of his office. That was kind of her thing, to walk out of a room whenever she felt like it. She could even do that in the middle of conversations. If it was too boring for her it was a waste of time, and her time was precious. Time was money – a philosophy she lived by.

Just as she walked out of the _Titan_ building and onwards to Salem Place she bumped into a man with a familiar face.

"EJ", she said with a smile.

"Kyle Alamain", he said examining her from head to toe. "What are you doing here? Last time I saw you were in college."

"Well, life has changed. I've just come to Salem. I'm trying to find myself a good job."

"You should not work for _Titan_ at least", he said looking at the building behind her. "I can give you an offer. I know you enough to know what you are capable of."

She was not going to reveal everything to EJ yet, he had to find out for himself. So in their silence they stood watching each other. EJ had become even more handsome since she last saw him and his charm were still spot on.

"Can I buy you a coffee so that we can catch up?" he asked after a while.

"Sure", she said and felt a familiar sense of security. She had always felt safe in his company.

"You look amazing", he said while walking beside her.

"How long has it been since we saw each other last time?"

"About three years I think."

"It felt like yesterday though", she said and thought of all the time they had spent together in London. All their talk of the future, their dreams and all the long nights they spent together.

"True, but as you said, life has changed."

"Tell me all about your new life", she said smiling.

"Where should I start", he said wonderingly. "Since I came to Salem I have worked as a lawyer, been married once and got a son with her, then we got divorced, I met another woman, got a daughter with her yesterday, working for my father and are currently planning my second wedding."

"Wow", she said without hiding her surprised feelings. "You have been busy."

"Life is not predictable at least", he said with a smile and opened the door to _Brady's Pub_ for her.

He showed her to a table, located a bit private from the other tables. At the same moment as she sat down a young man came up to them.

"EJ", he said with an underlined resentment in his voice.

"Nice to see you to, Max", EJ said with a sarcastic tone. "Two coffees please."

The young man, obviously named Max, walked away. There was something very familiar with him, but Kyle could not really place his face.

"What has happened in your life lately", EJ asked so that her attention drew to him again.

"Well, I flew from London to New York a couple of days ago. I wanted to get the jetlag out of my system before I flew here. And then I've been looking for a job."

"Come work for me", he said bluntly. "We make a great team. It can be like the old days."

"It can't be like the old days, EJ. You said yourself that you are currently planning your wedding."

He laughed that arrogant laugh that had drawn her to him the first time.

"Without the sex then", he said. "Come on, everyone at college were jealous of us. Don't tell me that you didn't think of us as a great team."

"We did make a great team", she said while Max served them their coffees. "But I actually already, sort of, have a job."

"Come on, darling, you can work for DiMera Enterprises."

Kyle saw how Max froze when he heard EJ's words. He glimpsed at her for a few seconds. She could see how his brown eyes turned darker. Then he walked away. DiMera, that name made Max freeze. It was a familiar name though. She wondered where she had heard that name before.

"I really can't", she said before sipping on her coffee. "I work for my father's company."

"Your father? Who is your father? Have you finally found him?"

"I've always known who my father was", she said feeling stupid for lying to him all those years in college. "I've just never seen any reason to tell my parents story to my friends."

"He never left your mother when you were a child then?"

"No, my mother left him and Salem. And at the time she thought that I could take care of myself she left me as well."

"I can relate to that."

"You're not angry then?" she said and looked at him with puppy eyes.

"No, I have not really been truthful about my true identity either."

"No? Are you not EJ Wells?"

"My real name is EJ DiMera."

"As in DiMera Enterprises?"

"Yes", he sad nodding. "It was founded by my father, Stefano."

Now she knew where she had heard the DiMera name. Stefano DiMera had been her mother's husband at one point. He was, according to her mother, a crazy and dangerous man with a huge hunger for power.

"Then I guess it is my turn to come clean", she said warming her cold hands on the cup with her coffee. "Alamain does not ring a bell for you, does it?"

"Not really", he said squinting in contemplation. "Wait, there was a Veronica ... no, Victoria ..."

"Vivian", she said to help him.

"Right, Vivian. She was my father's wife for a while ..." he said and turned silent. He looked at her with fear in his eyes. "Are you my ..."

"No, no", she said fast and shrugged her head. "I'm not your sister."

"Thank God", he said and exhaled. "Is Vivian your mother?"

"Yes, and my father is ..."

"Victor Kiriakis", he said quietly. "Am I right? My father has just told me about his past. Vivian Alamain was married to Victor as well, was she not?"

"Yes, Victor is my father."

"And you work for him?"

"I do."

"You do know that you are working for my enemy, right?" he said and looked at her with a serious face

"I know that you're our competition now."

"We should probably not talk any more of business then."

"Probably not. But I do need to say, let the best woman win", she said and looked challenging at him.

"That is my cue to leave", he said smiling at her while rising from his seat. "I guess I'll be seeing you soon again. I might not be as friendly next time."

"You know I always loved when you played hard ball."

"It will get a lot harder", he said whispering into her ear. "Your sexy mouth will not get the best of me anymore."

He put a few bills on the table, blinked at her and then walked away. After their last meeting in London she never thought that she would meet him ever again. It proved to be a small world after all.

Max stood behind the bar at the pub, watching her. His eyes had turned brown again, but his look was suspicious. The only way she could find out why he was familiar to her was to talk to him. She took her coat and walked up to the bar. It would not hurt to waste a little time on a cute guy like Max.

"Why are you so familiar?" she said and sat down at one of the barstools.

"Don't know", he said and tried to clean a glass with a towel.

"I think I saw you somewhere when I was still living in London", she said and studied his attractive face.

"Probably not."

"Why are you so hostile?" she said and did not care if he thought that she was blunt, she had never cared of restraining herself before.

"Everyone who is involved with the DiMera's are bad news", he said and stopped in his attempt to clean the glass and looked at her.

"Last time I saw EJ he was a Wells, not a DiMera", she said in her defence. "I had no idea he was a DiMera until just now."

"Why should I believe you?"

"Do you really think that a Kiriakis would willingly be involved with a DiMera?"

"A Kiriakis?" he said with a suspicious glance at her. "Are you a Kiriakis?"

"Well, my last name is my mother's, Alamain that is, but I am very much Victor Kiriakis daughter."

"You're kidding."

"No, why?"

"I knew there was something about you as soon as you stepped into the pub."

If she had met Max in a place where her parents meant nothing she probably would have kissed him for a comment like that. But she knew, because of her parents, that his comment was not a friendly one.

"Good or bad?" she said with an alluring smile.

"Probably bad", he said and started to try and clean the glass again.

"You know", she said and stood up from the stool, "one day you will look back at this moment and wonder what would have happened if you had gotten to know me better."

She took her coat and walked away. As she walked out of the pub she glanced back at the bar where Max stood with an impressed look on his face. She was already halfway in.


	3. Chapter 3

3.

During the time it took for _Titans_ lawyers to draw a contract for Martha Goodwin, Kyle decided to work on the other sides of her project. She had contacted some big retail stores in USA to hear if they were interested in the beauty products Martha produced. One of the retail stores was very impressed by the products sales figures. They were interested in purchasing a small amount of the products to see how much they sold in their stores. Kyle could, with that information, give Martha the alternative to start selling her products in stores as well and not just over the internet. It was a good opportunity to reach new consumers.

Kyle had also worked on brainstorming some thoughts on how they were to market the products in America. Her first idea was to have ads in fashion and beauty magazines. If _Titan_ were to stand for the costs of the ads, which were quite expensive, she could try to convince Martha to let _Titan_ ship all of her products in the future. That meant shipping all over Europe as well, which would make _Titan_ some money. If Martha agreed, Kyle would have proved herself to her father and Philip.

Martha had come to Salem when the contract was finished. She had signed it on one condition; that Kyle would always be her contact person on _Titan_ and the one who managed Martha's business there. Kyle had promised Martha this, which also made Kyle's place at _Titan_ valuable. There was no way that Philip, Brady or her father could fire her right now. Martha's signature on the contract was just as much a gain for her business as it was a security of Kyle's future at _Titan_.

She had worked hard, and a lot, the past couple of days to get her project started. She had not managed to take a break until now when she was walking into _Brady's Pub_. She saw Max working behind the bar and decided to take a seat there. She was quite anxious to see his reaction to her after their first meeting, where she had walked out on him. She never got anxious and could not understand why she felt like that now. Max was just a stranger who looked familiar to her. He was not her boyfriend or a family member. She should neither care nor wonder what he thought of her, but weirdly enough she did do exactly that.

"Can I get a coffee, please", she said while she sat down on the green seated barstool.

He looked at her with a puzzled face before he took a cup and poured some coffee in it. Obviously he did not know how to react to her being face to face with him again.

"Thank you", she said and smiled when he put the cup in front of her.

When he did not say anything back she got so annoyed that she could not look at him anymore. She wondered what to do and remembered the notepad in her bag. She looked for the notepad and a pen. When she found it she skimmed through the notes she had made for her project the last few days. She always had the notepad in her presence, especially when her laptop was not nearby. The notepad was important to her because she did not want to lose the ideas she got when she was out. It was better to write them down instead of having them all in her head.

It was basically just a facade that she was reading her notes, but Max did not know that. She found it hard to talk to him. There was something about him that intrigued her, and at the same time annoyed her. She did not like that he was so closed to her but, at the same time, it made him mysterious and interesting. She wondered if he played hard to get or if he still was suspicious of her. She did not know what to think of him but, at the same time, she wanted to get to know him.

"Hi big bro", said a blond girl who took a seat beside Kyle. "You have no idea how much I hate Philip right now."

Kyle's thoughts on Max flew away. Instead she thought of the girl's words and wondered if she was talking of Philip Kiriakis. Kyle was not sure. She wondered why a young girl like her would even know Philip Kiriakis.

"Not now", said Max with a warning tone.

In the corner of her eye Kyle saw that Max glanced at her. There was no more doubt in her mind. The girl _did_ talk about Philip Kiriakis, Max reaction had just revealed that.

"Playing the DiMera's against the Kiriakis' is not that easy", the girl said in a tone that screamed girlish frustration.

"Melanie", Max said grimly, "not now."

Kyle played aloof and continued to look at the notes in her notepad. It was enough for her to see their body language in the corner of her eye. She could figure out what she wanted by just seeing their body language and listening to their tone of voice.

"Where do you have the blueprints? You didn't leave them at _Cheatin' Heart_, right? You always have them with you, right? Why do you never listen to me, big brother?" said the girl before Max ignored her and went through a door behind the bar, which seemed to lead to the kitchen.

If the girl was the one who tried to screw with Philip, and _Titan_, Kyle was smart to just listen to her. She was Max's sister though, sadly enough. However, if Kyle needed to do something about this girl she would.

"Look, it's my two least favourite girls", said a familiar voice behind her.

Kyle turned around on her seat and saw Philip with his arm around the girl named Stephanie. He was looking at her and Max's sister.

"Introductions might be in order, then", Kyle said cunningly.

"Melanie ... Kyle", he said and pointed at them. "Kyle is my sister."

Those words made Melanie look at her with a mixture of surprise and sheer stupidity, probably because of her words before Philip came. Kyle herself was surprised that Philip actually called her his sister. She never expected that to happen, not so soon at least.

"Melanie is the girl who ran to our competition", Philip said and got a dark look in his grey-green eyes.

Kyle had already figured that out. She could not believe that Melanie was that stupid. It did not come as a surprise to Kyle though. Melanie seemed too young to make good judgements of such big decisions.

"Maybe you two should get acquainted and figure out some ways to agonise me even more?" he said and turned to walk away, but then he stopped and looked at Kyle. "By the way, our father wants to have a family dinner which he wanted me to invite you to. It is tomorrow night. A car will pick you up at seven."

Before she could answer he had already walked away to a table where he sat down with Stephanie. A family dinner would be interesting. She would probably feel like an outcast, but that did not matter much. The fact that her father wanted her there was all that mattered. Although she was also happy that she was given the opportunity to get to know Philip more. He was her brother, half-brother, after all. That he thought that she would want to agonise him was puzzling though. That was not her intent whatsoever. She did not come to Salem to attack him, at least not now when she had finally met him. It might have been her initial thought, to get what she wanted without thinking about others, but as soon as she got an opportunity to prove herself with her project she changed her mind. Now she could show her skills and advance through that way, she did not need to trample all over him. His words did therefore hurt her feelings.

"I didn't know Philip had a sister", Melanie said.

"Who did you run to?" she said and did not feel to get into any small talk.

"Excuse me?"

"Which DiMera did you run to?" she said and let her voice sound as serious as she felt. "Was it EJ?"

Melanie looked away, which was all the confirmation Kyle needed. Of course it was EJ, it was so obvious to her. She knew all of his skills.

"Melanie ... it was Melanie, right?" Kyle said with a sly smile. "Don't let my smiles and well-behaved manners fool you. If you mess with me, or my family, I will strike you back ten times harder. I grew up in London, in the real world, I don't live in any fantasy. I have thicker skin than you can ever imagine. Try to screw me over or mess with my family and I will destroy you. Mark my words."

Melanie looked at her with a defiant look. Obviously she had some sort of attitude problem, probably because she was so young and arrogant. That did not last very long in the business world, though.

"I don't need this crap", Melanie said and stood up from her seat. "You have no idea who I am, you don't know anything about me."

"And I don't want to either."

Melanie made a sour face and walked away. There was no longer any surprise that Melanie did not like her. A few seconds later she heard the door slam shut and knew that Melanie was gone. She was going to be a handful, Kyle understood that perfectly clear. She could manage Melanie more than enough though. Kyle saw Melanie as more of a challenge than a liability.

Max came back from the kitchen. He gazed through the pub, either looking for his sister or looking for new costumers to take orders from. He stopped his gaze on Philip and Stephanie, but stayed behind the bar. It did not seem that he was on his way to them. Kyle saw her chance to talk to him again and see if he still was suspicious of her.

"Max", she said and his brown eyes met hers. "Our first meeting ..."

"Did not go very well", he said quickly. "Sorry for being such a jerk."

"No worries. What changed your mind?"

"Your grand speech about me wondering what would have happened if I had gotten to know you better", he said, broke their eye contact to look away and smile.

"You might give me the benefit of a doubt now then?" she said giving him her best puppy eyes.

"What do you have in mind?" he said and looked at her with a face full of interest.

"Maybe we can have some coffee together?"

"Come back here at nine when I close the pub", he said without any hesitation.

"It's a deal", she said and stood up from the barstool. She took a bill from her bag and handed it to him. "Keep the change. See you tonight."

She walked out of the pub with a genuine smile on her face. It had gone much easier to talk to Max than she had anticipated.

* * *

When Kyle came back to _Brady's Pub_ that night she found Max sweeping the floor. The pub was dark and empty, a poor look for such a welcoming place.

"Right on time", Max said when she closed the front door behind her.

"I wouldn't want to miss any single second of this", she said and stressed her words so the attitude of her outburst became comical.

Max chuckled as he put the broom away.

"Coffee?" he said.

"Yes, please", she said and sat down at a table next to the bar.

Max concentrated on making their coffee and Kyle saw her chance to, without him knowing, examine him and try to figure out where she had seen him before. He had been a bit younger and he might have had longer hair, she thought. Maybe she had seen him on a poster or on TV, but she could not remember.

"Where do I recognize you from?" she said when he came to the table with their coffee's.

"That's a good question", he said with a faked wonder.

"Come on, Max, tell me", she said chuckling.

"You might have seen me on TV."

"Because you are a serial killer?" she said and widened her eyes in faked horror.

"No", he said laughing. "I was a race car driver."

"Right", she said and snapped her finger, "Max Brady the race car driver. So you did have longer hair before."

"What?" he said smiling and wrinkled his forehead.

"I thought I remembered you with longer hair."

They laughed together for a while. It felt good to laugh. Kyle had not laughed for a long time, which she had her reasons for. Max was sweet and made her laugh, something that she cherished.

"Was it because you checked up on EJ?" he said and became serious again.

"Well, I'm not going to lie. I did check up on EJ, but only because we had known each other before."

Max looked away. It seemed as if he was okay with her until her connection to EJ was mentioned. She did not think that was fair.

"I don't want you to think that I'm like the DiMera's just because I know EJ", she said nicely to prevent him from taking offence. "As I said last time we met, I didn't know EJ was a DiMera until I came to Salem. He has always been EJ Wells to me. He was still EJ Wells when he was racing, wasn't he?"

"True."

"So I wasn't the only one who didn't know the truth of his identity."

"You're right", he said and nodded.

"You know", she said slowly and looked down in her cup of steaming hot black coffee. "I have never really cared what people think of me. I've always been independent and strong. I did not have a father for eighteen years, and my mother left me and never came back at that time. All my life I've had to settle with only one parent. When I had my mother I had no father, and when I first met my father I had no mother. They were never around either. My mother was always away somewhere else in Europe, and my father was across the world. That's the story of my life. And now ... it's hard coming to a small town like Salem where your parents have their different reputations. Everyone looks at me with pity and uncertainty because of my mother, and with fear or caution because of my father. I don't want to be judged because of my parents, but no matter what I do I can't get around the fact that their reputation affects how people look at me. But at least I finally have my father near, right."

"I'm sorry", he said.

Sorry was such a simple word, but it meant so much. It meant more to Kyle than Max could ever imagine. Not because Max had done anything wrong, but because so many people had wronged her before without saying sorry.

"For what?" she said and looked at him.

"For judging you too soon", he said with a genuine look in his eyes.

"Have you changed your mind about me, then?" she said and took a sip from her coffee.

"You're not as horrible as I first thought."

That made her chuckle.

"You should see me when I work", she said with a mysterious smile. "You might change your opinion back again."

"Are you that harsh?" he said and raised his eyebrows.

"If it's necessary. And since our biggest competitors are DiMera Enterprises, I have to be determined and diligent. In other words, I will do what I have to do."

"You're like Philip, then."

"Well, we are family."

Max stood up from his seat and went to the bar with a serious look on his face. He started to clean the bar desk with a cloth.

"What's wrong?" she said and walked over to the bar. "Are you afraid of my business skills? I promise I won't use them on you."

She tried to joke the seriousness away from his face, but it did not work.

"You would destroy anyone to get what you want, right?" he said with a hardened tone. "You are so much like Philip that you would do anything to get ahead, not caring of who you trample on."

"Hey, that's not fair", she said and felt hurt by his words. "You are judging me again."

"But it is true, right?"

"Just when it comes to people who mess with me and my family."

"Like my sister?"

"She has made her choice", she said harshly. "She ran to the DiMera's. How do you think that we should handle that? By giving her a pat on the shoulder and a forgiving hug? Which reality do you live in?"

"In a reality where you don't just destroy people", he said while his brown eyes turned darker.

"Say that to your sister."

He looked at her with revulsion. She had probably messed up her chance to have him as a friend.

"They don't even have an agreement yet", he said and looked away. "I think you should go."

"I was just going to", she said, took her coat and purse.

"The coffee is on me."

She took up a bill from her purse anyway.

"I don't want to owe you anything", she said and threw the bill on the table.

She walked out of the pub without looking back. She had just burned her bridges with the only one who she could have convinced not to judge her. Well, she still had her job at least.


End file.
